Healthy again, Vikings’ T.J. Hockenson wants to reclaim his place among the NFL’s top tight ends

A key member of the Vikings offense will stand across from a mentor on Sept. 8 when they open the season — and new Bears coach Ben Johnson’s tenure — at Soldier Field on “Monday Night Football.”

Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson and Johnson spent three seasons together with the Lions, starting in 2019. Hockenson, a first-round pick that year, and Johnson, an entry-level coach who would later become the tight ends coach and guru coordinator, immediately formed a bond that lasts to this day. Hockenson reached out to congratulate Johnson when he was hired by Chicago in January.

“I love Ben,” Hockenson told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “He helped me a ton as a young player in this league. I remember him being a quality control guy my first year and we’d meet every day during special teams. He’d explain offenses and defenses to me. He’s a guy that made a huge impact and someone that will always be super meaningful in my life.”

Hockenson’s influences — Johnson, former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell among them — have shaped the way he has approached this season with 22-year-old quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

McCarthy will be the 12th quarterback to throw Hockenson an NFL pass, meaning the 6-foot-5 security blanket has plenty of experience adapting and succeeding with new arms.

Hockenson is healthy again, too. He felt a step slow last season, when he didn’t play until November after suffering a knee injury against the Lions in December 2023. The injury upended his offseason training regimen and left him to acclimate in games.

What a difference a year can make. Standing with two healthy knees and the foundation of his training once again, Hockenson said he is primed to resume his run as one of the NFL’s best tight ends.

“I have plenty of goals, and they’re to the standard I want them to be,” he added. “I obviously want to be the top tight end in this league. I want to be the best player in this league, but I’m also focused on being the best teammate I can be.”

After a late August practice, Hockenson, 28, talked about his approach with quarterbacks, which Johnson taught him at the start of his NFL career in Detroit.

“Ben talked about, ‘Hey, I’m going to give you a canvas, and you have the brush,’ ” Hockenson recalled. “’You paint a picture within the rules I’m giving you.’ ”

How Hockenson paints — or creates separation from defenders within his routes — has been a key part of his conversations with McCarthy.

Hockenson wants McCarthy to trust him and not to be scared off him within the progression of the play if something looks different. Because of McCarthy’s mobility, he can buy precious seconds when a play breaks down, giving his receivers more time to get open.

How Hockenson gets open is “something I’ve talked to J.J. about,” he said. “’Hey, not everything is going to look exactly the same. Just because it’s this coverage, I want to be able to play this [move] off of it because it’ll help us later on in this route.”

Three quarterbacks — Stafford, Jared Goff and Cousins — have thrown for more than 900 yards to Hockenson, a two-time Pro Bowl selection.

All three were slightly different. Stafford told Hockenson to get open, he didn’t care how or when, and he would find him whether in the progression or after the play dissolved. Goff wanted Hockenson’s releases to be a certain way to get to spots on time. Cousins was also spot- and timing-focused, but was more flexible with his receivers.

“J.J. is a lot like Staff and a little like Kirk,” Hockenson said. “Just depends on the routes and what we’re doing. ‘I want you here at this time, but on the same hand I want you to get open. I’m going to trust you.’”

McCarthy and Hockenson worked on their connection in Nashville, where Hockenson lives and trains in the offseason.

He persuaded McCarthy to drop by for some golf and training during a five-day stay before camp.

Hockenson is now trying to get McCarthy to buy a place there and make it an annual retreat. He joked that the person he really needs to convince is McCarthy’s fiancée, Katya Kuropas.

“It’s a beautiful spot, Tennessee is,” Hockenson said, “so we’ll see if we can make that happen.”

Hockenson incorporated something new to his training because of how he felt after missing training camp last year and the first seven games of the regular season.

“I was a step slower than I wanted to be, and I knew that after a couple games,” he said. “Toward the end of the year, I got more comfortable, and I got back to where I wanted to be.”

He wasn’t always comfortable in the inherent chaos of the sport, which is difficult to replicate in structured practices or rehab. He said he uses more “reaction-based” drills in his personal workouts, incorporating movements and catches that could be randomized instead of predetermined.

“That has really showed up here on the practice field, and is going to translate to Sundays,” Hockenson said.

Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, a former tight ends coach with the Rams, agreed that Hockenson has looked like a “complete” receiver and blocker again.

“He’s winning on routes,” Phillips said. “[In] the joint practices he had some really nice routes on some third downs. But the other thing with him coming in fully healthy is you’ve seen what we’ve been used to as a complete tight end, really competing in the run game and doing some good things in both blocking and pass protection.”

Hockenson can be the best friend of a young quarterback, Phillips said, due to the high-percentage throws and advantageous matchups against linebackers or safeties.

“That’s something that I’ve been continuing to work on even since college,” said McCarthy, a self-described perfectionist. “I want everything to be perfect out there. That’s just unrealistic.”

“That’s kind of the psycho in me,” he added, “when he catches a 20-yard high cross and I’m like, ‘Hmm, could’ve been 30.’ ”

But, Hockenson said, “We’re all psychos.

“He always comes off the field with four, five, six things he wants to be better at,” Hockenson added, “and you respect that.”